


Undercover

by SassyArtFarts



Category: Ratchet & Clank
Genre: Gen, LGBTQ Character, Short Story, Suzie is mentioned because I love her, awkward ratchet trying to be more feminine, gender-fluid Ratchet, how? who tf knows, no beta we die like illeterates, random in the future setting where the lombaxes come back, uninspired plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:02:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22037503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SassyArtFarts/pseuds/SassyArtFarts
Summary: The lombaxes have returned to Ratchet's dimension and while they're settling in with new inventions and scientific empires a series of threats send a family company into worry during their very social lifestyle. A squad is called in to the biggest party of the company to keep the targets safe.I suck at summaries but Ratchet is undercover dressed up all pretty.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	Undercover

Ratchet was beyond embarrassed. Why, in all the galaxies, did Qwark think this was a good idea? He’s usually the “disguise master” in these situations. Why couldn’t he have done it? Because he’s not nearly as elegant as Ratchet, was his blasted excuse. A Blargian Snagglebeast could be more elegant than Qwark… But, sadly, none of the girls could do it. They were easily recognized, and Suzy was too young for this kind of mission anyways, despite how eager she was. And, of course, Ratchet was the only one thin enough to pull the dress off, as long as he didn’t wear his binder. Just need to think feminine thoughts. This is fine. Be more feminine than usual, and you’ll be fine. This is _fine_.

Ratchet gave an unattractive scowl toward the cameras. Qwark was definitely watching through one of them, and Ratchet was silently hoping that his scowl was enough to make Qwark spontaneously combust somehow.

Luckily people didn’t seem to notice the out of place “female” lombax hiding in the corner like a purple and orange wall flower. The dress, luckily enough, was comfortable enough to not warrant a laser canon aimed at Qwark’s head after this, but the atmosphere was ridiculous. People of all shapes and sizes were here, sure, but they all had one huge thing in common. They were filthy stinking rich. There were even a few of the new arrival lombaxes scattered around the crowd, so Ratchet didn’t stick out _too_ much. Besides, no one would recognize the “hero of time and space” in a purple dress with braids in his hair, so the only thing that made him stick out in any way, was him being practically anti-social.

“You look fairly unhappy, young lady.” The calm, older voice snapped Ratchet out of his brooding, making him jump. “Terribly sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you.” The older gentleman held out his scaly hands in worry as Ratchet regained his balance. He cleared his throat, good thing he was great at different voices, much to Suzy’s delight whenever they both got bored.

“No, no it’s all right, I was just caught up in negative thoughts. It was my own fault.” He could practically hear Suzy’s giggle at his “princess” voice. The gentleman stood back a little with a smile, re-adjusting his bow-tie. Out of the whole party this lizard-like gent was the only tolerable soul Ratchet could see, or was willing to see, stuck in such an obnoxious role.

“What has you in such a sad state, young miss? Do you not have any company this evening?” he tilted his head with a slightly concerned expression.

“I’m afraid not.” Ratchet confessed, not even trying to act; his feelings of isolation in the room were obvious.

“Well, that must be rectified!” The gent cheered happily, offering his elbow to a confused Ratchet, “Come, take my arm, I have a few friends that would love to have you around.”

“You don’t even know my name.” Ratchet protested pretending to be bashful.

“All will be rectified, my young lady. We must keep every one entertained at our parties!” He gently grabbed Ratchet’s hand and placed it on his arm, guiding the frazzled lombax to a small group. Our… Our parties?! Ratchet was in shock for a minute. He was being guided through a crowd that was now giving him the outmost attention, by the owner of the huge estate he was patrolling. Some gave him some seriously jealous looks, while others smiled knowingly. What was this? An initiation?!

“S-sir?” Ratchet asked quietly

“Don’t worry about the crowd, they won’t bother you.” He answered quickly. “Lads! Gals! Look who I found!” He bellowed happily at the group as they turned to greet him.

“Hello, Trenton! Oh! What a pretty little thing!” One woman exclaimed “You must be one of the newcomers! How do you like this dimension so far?” she gave Ratchet a wink. Ratchet was tongue tied for a second.

“O-oh! So far it’s lovely.” His voice almost squeaked. He hid his mental self-kicking by looking away with a bashful smile.

“So glad you like it here as well, my dear.” Said another gentleman. The lombax was tall with dark brown fur. The father of two targets. Oh, I know him. Ratchet smiled “So, you’re by your lonesome this evening, I gather. Shall I call upon one of the boys to give you a tour?” Ratchet perked up, a tour, huh? And with one of the targets no less.

“That sounds fantastic, sir. You wouldn’t mind?” Ratchet gave a glance to the Trenton who nodded his approval with a smile. The other gentleman, a lombax by the name of Scalar, called upon his two sons, Benjamin and Tomas. Two young boys, a little younger than Ratchet himself, came bounding up. One with a young woman on his arm.

“Would one of you fine lads, give this lovely lady a tour of the estate?” Trenton asked, the two exchanged glances, one far more eager than the other.

“I would love to.” Bowed Tomas “and who may this lovely lady be?” he offered his hand to Ratchet, whom hesitated a moment

“R-Rose, my name is Rose.” Nice save Ratchet, really, wonderful creativity with names. Ratchet scorned himself.

“A pleasure, Rose.” Ratchet took Tomas’s hand, who gracefully slid in beside Ratchet and began to guide the struggling lombax up the stairs. Ratchet was caught up in the moment, suddenly wondering how feet work. This was fast. Really fast. I need to catch up! Ratchet pushed himself out of his awkward thoughts.

“Geh!” Ratchet nearly lost his footing on the last step, luckily Tomas had a good grip on him.

“Heavens, my lady, why so nervous?” Tomas asked holding Ratchet’s arm with both hands. His eyes widened and he grinned “You’re certainly strong enough to not be afraid of scrawny me.” Ratchet pulled away slightly, face flushing red, but Tomas had a good grip on him. “It’s perfectly all right, miss Rose.” He paused “Does holding my arm bother you?” That caught Ratchet off guard

“I’m sorry?”

“Does it bother you to be touching someone else?” Tomas asked sincerely.

“I- I don’t think so?” Tomas cut Ratchet’s words off

“I don’t want you uncomfortable, my lady, please, let me know if I am making you so.” Smooth little tramp, isn’t he. Ratchet raised an eyebrow.

“I am fine, thank you. Shall we continue the tour?” He grabbed Tomas’s arm and urged him forward.

“Well, I’m impressed.” Talwyn smirked, studying her friend successfully gain access to the other parts of the estate. If there was anything amiss, Ratchet would pretty much pick it up instantly.

“He is a very good actor.” Clank stated, one could hear his grin. “hopefully he is in no imminent danger while touring the estate.” Talwyn shook her head.

“I sure hope so. If not, he’ll probably become a target alongside those boys.” She glanced over at the files and looked them over again. It was such a strange call, from one of the wealthiest in the Solana galaxy, asking for help. They were constantly threatened, and while having parties strewn about their schedules did make an assassination attempt difficult, it was also fairly easy to sneak in the estate and hide, ready to strike at any minute. Ratchet’s job was to keep an eye out during one of the largest parties the estate ever had, and check the defenses while he was at it, if he could gain access. The guards scattered about the estate knew who he was though, and where he was thanks to his Nav unit, expertly hidden by Talwyn herself. Basically he was the undercover patrol during the festivities.

“Looks like he’ll get good ground cover with that tour of his.” Qwark bellowed happily. Talwyn rolled her eyes with a smile.

“Think he’ll handle being guided around by a young man most of the night without breaking?” Talwyn smirked at Clank, who merely smiled in return

“I trust Ratchet can complete his task without problems.” He did giggle a bit though. Clank knew Ratchet somewhat enjoyed the fruitless flirting he received sometimes. The perimeter group turned their attention to the main level, keeping an eye on the crowd while Ratchet was patrolling.

“So, Rose,” Tomas started as they turned into, yet another, large hall. The place was nearly all an off-white, almost silver color, Ratchet was wondering if they went for chrome to be ironic, or they just loved the color enough to look past how cliché it was. “Did my father invite you?” Ratchet looked at Tomas.

“Yes, he did, rather suddenly.” Tomas rolled his eyes and stared ahead of him, annoyed.

“Did he give you a specific reason to be here?” Ratchet re-adjusted his skirt, unfazed.

“And if he did?”

“I’d be irritated.” Tomas answered bluntly

“Why would that be?” Ratchet asked, flinging a stray lock of hair back over his shoulder.

“He and my dear brother seem to think I need someone. It’s disheartening to say the least.” He grumbled “Forgive me for being so blunt, but my father and older brother have better things to worry about.” Something in Ratchet’s brain clicked. He thinks his father is playing matchmaker. Ratchet shrugged playfully.

“Might as well take entertainment as it’s handed to you, I suppose. Speaking of which, shall we?” Ratchet gestured for Tomas to continue the tour. Tomas smiled genuinely.

“Of course, my lady! I have something you might find interesting.”

“If it’s a rose garden, I’ll hardly be impressed.” Ratchet unintentionally said aloud, and quickly covered his mouth. Tomas just laughed.

“Haven’t been around too many creative people, have you?” He patted Ratchet’s hand “No, no, what I have is far more beautiful.” He nearly dragged Ratchet towards an out of place , light brown door and slowly opened it. Ratchet stopped in awe at the sight before him. An unbelievable display of his home galaxy, right down to the tiniest of details lay out before him in constant moving, holographic form. He felt like he was in his ship again, only this time he was a giant. Nearly everything was perfect. The stars, the colors, the asteroids, everything was so neatly arranged Ratchet was engulfed in mere seconds at the fantastic view.

“The greatest astrophysicists in the known universe pulled together to make this possible. A near-perfect, scaled down hologram display of the galaxy; mainly used to prevent asteroid or any other natural disasters.” Tomas stepped foreword and placed his hand on the display stand. His movements didn’t effect anything aside from walking through a few things. “We plan to make one for every galaxy we can to help prevent casualties.” Tomas looked at Ratchet again and gave out a small laugh. “I see I have you entranced.” He smirked. Ratchet blinked and readjusted his stance. Probably looked ridiculous staring at the holo-display with wide eyes.

“This is marvelous.” He stated, still in awe.

“I’m glad you think so.” Tomas smiled happily. He walked up to Ratchet and gently pushed him inside the room. “It’s better when you stand in the middle.” He whispered sweetly, making Ratchet cringe a little. For someone that’s frustrated with a matchmaker father, he sure flirts enough for someone to think otherwise.

“Just think, as soon as we have everything down perfect, these could save thousands of lives.” Tomas began playing with Ratchet’s hair. The undercover lombax took a deep breath to calm himself enough to not elbow the guy for being waaay too close. Tolerate it. Tolerate it, Ratchet. You’ve only got a few hours left.

Something darted past the door, just beyond Ratchet’s field of vision. He spun around as soon as the door slammed shut and the lights went out. Ratchet could hear startled shrieks from the party goers a ways away.

“What in-!” Tomas’s voice was right behind Ratchet “Rose? Are you alright?” Ratchet held his hand out behind him to be grasped by Tomas’s.

“I’m fine.” Ratchet’s voice was colder than normal, “You and your brother might not be, though.”

“Great! He’s not picking up!” Talwyn growled “What happened? Where did the outage originate?” She hovered over Clank as he searched

“It appears the the power source was overwhelmed at the west side of the estate by the atrium.” Clank responded

“Get a few guards out there to find the power source, but stay frosty, this may be a diversion.” Talwyn turned to other recruits “Get in the main room and keep anyone from going out or in. You two, keep close to Scalar and Benjamin. Al, get the emergency lights going where there are any life signs. Clank, keep trying to get a hold of Ratchet, I’m going to go and find him and his date.”

“I’m telling him you said that!” Al hollered as Talwyn left the base just a few yards from the estate’s back entrance. She took out her nav unit and saw Ratchet’s signal. He’s nearly on top of the atrium. This can’t be good. Talwyn darted towards Ratchet’s signal, hoping nothing happened to him or his unknowing charge. All the lights were out, and by the look of the exterior lights, some were blown out completely. Shards of glass scattered around the outside making Talwyn stop. She carefully stepped forward, listening hard, and turned off her light. Some of those glass shards may belong to a window. Nothing seemed to move aside from a slight breeze and Talwyn’s breathing. Avoiding any glass shards the best she could, Talwyn carefully approached the back entrance. She wasn’t surprised to find it unlocked, and tossed the broken window theory. Something else must have shattered the glass, but she’ll worry about that later. Talwyn snuck in the darkened room and closed the door behind her, careful to lock it.

Tomas and Ratchet kept close to each other as they searched for a source of light. Ratchet lost his patience and managed to get his flashlight out and turned it on.

“Where were you keeping that?” Tomas asked, shocked. Ratchet flipped his flashlight in the air and caught it with a large grin.

“One of the may questions you should never ask a lady.” He looked at the previously slammed door. “Well, I’m willing to bet the door’s locked.” He huffed impatiently.

“How do you know that?” Tomas asked incredulously. Ratchet gave him an unimpressed look.

“By all means, my lord. Have a go.” He gestured to the door impatiently. Tomas huffed over to the door and tugged, much to Ratchet’s humor, quite a few times at the handle in vain.

“You’ve won the bet, Rose.” Tomas sighed. “I’ve been to this room enough, I know there was another door.”

“Well, let’s not waste any time, then.” Ratchet snagged a ribbon from his hair and secured his rolled up skirt around his waist so he could move better. “Let’s see if we can find that door.”

After some time, Ratchet found himself rolling his eyes at Tomas’s attempts to appear valiant, going about the walls without aide of a light. Luckily the complete darkness didn’t last long as red emergency lights came on with a light popping noise; it didn’t come in time as Tomas and Ratchet tripped over each other.

“Ow…” Ratchet complained quietly “That was graceful…”

“On both our parts.” Tomas sighed “I’m sorry. Are you all right?”

“Peachy, this room seems bigger with all the lights on.” Ratchet mused, standing up, with Tomas’s help, careful to keep his skirt from falling from it’s fasten. He pointed the light ahead of him. “Is that the door we came in, or-?” Tomas brushed off his pants and looked up

“Oh, good, that’s the exit. Thank heavens too; I was getting tired of scrambling along the walls of this room.” He huffed gesturing for Ratchet to follow him.

“Would have been easier if you just used the flashlight.” Ratchet grumbled, following Tomas’s lead.

“What do you think, Rose? Is this one locked as well?” Tomas raised an amused eyebrow. Ratchet returned Tomas’s flirting with a deadpan expression

“If it is, I’m impatient enough to blast the thing open.” Ratchet stated, annoyed “Just try and open the door.” Tomas smiled, obviously not realizing Ratchet had a gun on him this very moment. Tal, you’re fabulous for showing me concealing tricks. Ratchet smiled to himself as Tomas slowly opened the door.

Talwyn sighed in relief as the emergency lights came on. She readjusted her blaster, flashlight arrangement and called up Clank.

“You see them, Clank?” She wanted confirmation that she was tracking the right signal in case any tampering occurred.

“Confirmed. They are a few yards from you, moving east from your position.” Clank responded

“Thanks.” She quickened her pace, seeing Ratchet’s signal move a little bit faster. He wasn’t running from something was he? No, more like towards something, she realized as his signal grew closer to the main hall where the guests were being held.

“Give me a status update on the party guests.” Talwyn ordered quietly. The com hissed a little making her flinch, but it didn’t effect her pace.

“All guests are accounted for aside from Ratchet and Tomas, Commander.” Came a quiet, but calm response. Good.

“Thank you. Keep me updated.”

“Sir!” came the conformation and then the com went quiet.

“Tal-…” It was quick, quiet and full of static, but she recognized Ratchet’s voice anywhere.

“Ra- Rose? What’s going on, I can barely hear you.” Talwyn stopped and watched his signal, he wasn’t moving.

“S…thing… interfering… comms.” He sounded determined. His signal aimed more in her direction now “Had t… around. Some… is fiddling with… electronics. Tomas and… aren’t the only targets.” Something was up, he was in protection mode.

“Sit tight. I’m on my way.” Talwyn responded

“K…p an eye… someone… following us.” Ratchet was quiet, and seemed a bit irritated by what Talwyn could gather.

“You got it.” Talwyn quickened pace and turned off her flashlight. Ratchet’s fine, he can handle himself. She shook off the little worried voice in her head, repeating over and over. He was fine, just get there and help him out.

Talwyn followed the signal and stopped a few inches from the room Ratchet and Tomas were in. Someone was listening in on them. She darted out of view, readying her blaster. She could hear Ratchet’s hushed voice conversing with Tomas, telling him to remain calm. The figure was crouched, silently petting the door obsessively. Well that isn’t creepy, Talwyn thought to herself, with a disgusted look. Ratchet’s voice silenced and a creek came from the door. No no no he’s still there Ratchet, can’t you hear him? Talwyn readied her blaster, only to be shocked as Ratchet flung the door wide open, smacking the figure directly in the head. It let out a yelp and fumbled backwards, darting away.

“Add creepy to your resume you moron!” Ratchet hollered flinging the door out of his way and zapping the figure in the back, causing it to fall over.

“Where did you learn to do all that?” Tomas’s voice cracked slightly as he emerged from the room they were hiding in.

“Galactic Rangers.” Ratchet answered honestly only to turn around and aim his blaster at Talwyn, making Tomas yelp and dart back into the room. Talwyn came out of her hiding place, hands up.

“I ever tell you how pretty you are in a dress?” She smirked. Ratchet lowered his blaster and rolled his eyes.

“Every time I’m a girl and you want to go shopping?” He huffed, grabbing Tomas and guiding him out. “Easy, it’s Commander Apogee. She’s one of the good guys. Tal, keep him company while I check on the creepy guy I just tagged.” Talwyn holstered her blaster and nodded, approaching Tomas as Ratchet went to the fallen figure.

“Clank, can you hear me?” Talwyn called into her com.

“Yes, Miss Apogee.” Clank responded

“Found Rat- er Rose and Tomas. Can you and Al find out what’s messing with the comms? Seems to have only effected R-Rose.” Tal kept an eye out behind her and kept Tomas between Ratchet and herself.

“Tal, you sure it’s just me?” Ratchet called out. “I couldn’t get any of the guys on the main floor while being chased by robo-creep over here.”

“It’s a robot?” Talwyn and Tomas asked in unison.

“Yup.” Ratchet tore something from its head. “Looks like it has a voice command chip modified to track voices. Probably how it found us so quick.”

“I could get a hold of the guys on the floor fine, Ratchet. Can you try again?” Ratchet removed his com unit and tossed it at Talwyn, who caught it gracefully.

“It’s totally fried. I could only patch it up enough to get a hold of you.” Ratchet’s demeanor was calm enough, but he was stiff enough to get Talwyn worried. She tried the ground again.

“Status update on the party guests.” She called in. Static. “Ground, can you read me?” Nothing beyond a crackling sound in the static came as a response. Great. “Clank, Al, the coms inside the building are fried, find me a source, please.”

“It seems the source was destroyed moments ago, unfortunately the communications inside are all dark.” Clank responded

“All of the units aside from yours and Ratchet’s seem to be malfunctioning. We have no eyes for you aside from the security cameras” Al added worriedly. Talwyn and Ratchet exchanged glances. Ratchet tore into the robot and found a small EMP devise.

“Great.” Ratchet huffed. “Should have slammed the door on you sooner you little creep.”

“What is going on?” Tomas sighed, obviously shaken up. Ratchet stood up, gave the little robot a slight kick and walked up to Tomas.

“The robot had an EMP. When those go off it basically means all electronics within a specific radius get fried.” Ratchet gestured to the robot “That guy was tracking us based on voices. Do you know of anyone with the capability of manipulating stuff like that?” Tomas shook his head

“My brother and I dabbled in robotics before, but this is way out of our league.” He scratched the back of his head. “Our engineers could pull something like this off, but they were all focusing on the galactic display these past few weeks.” Ratchet stood, hand to face, in thought.

“Did you catch all that, Clank?” Talwyn asked

“Yes, Miss Apogee.”

“EMP devise, short circuits the building in the middle of a grand party full of extravagant people with a looot of money, when there are two assassination targets attending.” Ratchet said aloud. “Why have one scout just following one of the targets?” Ratchet put his fist to his mouth, biting down on one of his knuckles.

“First thing’s first.” Talwyn interrupted Ratchet’s thoughts “Let’s make sure the other target is safe as well.” Ratchet removed his hand from his chinand nodded. Tomas sighed and stuck close to Ratchet’s side as they carefully made their way to the main room. He was practically clinging to Ratchet, Talwyn noticed, grinning. What did Ratchet do to gain this sort of trust? They remained quiet as soon as they started hearing hushed tones of a large crowd stuck in the darkness. The main hall was black as pitch.

“Clank, Al,” Talwyn whispered “Why are the emergency lights off in the main ball room?”

“There are none.” Clank responded

“Seriously?!” Ratchet hissed

“They designed the room for star gazing. The emergency lights were set up to turn on when the lights turn off. So, they removed them entirely” Tomas answered “The red lights ruined the aesthetic, they said.” Ratchet turned around with an incredulous expression. Tomas shrugged hopelessly; Ratchet only turned around again and shook his head.

“Rich people…” He grumbled.

“You have no room to talk.” Talwyn nudged him playfully

“Hey, I’m just a simple kid, here. Don’t go placing me with these guys.” Ratchet hissed, making Talwyn giggle.

“You’re far too _elegant_ to be considered simple.” Talwyn teased

“Oh, don’t start. I gave Qwark an earful for that statement.” Ratchet huffed

“Qwark? As in Captain Qwark??” Tomas’s shocked voice made Talwyn and Ratchet shush him.

“Yes, that Qwark. Keep it down!” Ratchet whispered hoarsely. “We don’t know what’s going on down there.”

“People just seem scared to me. Why not just go down there and find my brother?” Tomas suggested.

“No need to.” Came a familiar voice before all three were snagged and knocked out.

Ratchet woke up with a groan and held his head. There was a familiar light around him as he spotted Talwyn and Tomas unconscious next to him. He soon recognized the display room. For some reason working as if nothing happened. Ratchet looked around until he spotted three figures, two drones and a young lombax.

“Ben, you’re a grade A creep, you know that?” Ratchet sighed. Benjamin turned around with a grin on his face.

“Oh, I do pride myself in that fact, my lady Rose.” He laughed, taking a swig of whatever was in that wine glass. “You seem to have made quite the impact on my brother there. He rarely shows anyone our little treasures before they’re finished.” He gestured towards the display around them. “What do you think of their cute idea of selling this to all the known galaxies?”

“Seems like an okay idea to me.” Ratchet shrugged. Ben slammed his hands on both sides of Ratchet, breaking the wine glass, making Ratchet recoil.

“Of course it does! Because he’s only showed you the positive in this damned creation!” He bolted upright and turned his back to his hostages. “For everything good that can come of this there is something horrid yet to be found. My brother refuses to see that.” He looked at Ratchet again. “He’s blindly selling these to political leaders. Do you have any idea how corrupt those morons can be? Do you know what someone can do if they managed to hack into the system?” He was in Ratchet’s face again. “Chaos! They’d all cause immeasurable chaos!” He stood up again, dragging Ratchet with him.

“Hey!”

“Look, lady Rose. Look! These can only predict nature to a certain extent! This thing is only at 50% accuracy and yet my bone-headed younger brother seems to think that we can sell them at 75%!” He gripped Ratchet’s arm tighter, causing Ratchet to expertly release the grip and get away from Benjamin. The other was slightly shocked by the action, but continued in a frenzy.

“You can’t sell something like this with such a low percentage! It’ll only work if it’s at one hundred percent! An A plus! No flaws!”

“That’s impossible, Ben.” Ratchet responded.

“Exactly!” Ben flung his arms in the air. “We can’t sell this as a defense mechanism! It doesn’t work!”

“Why not sell to museums then?” Ratchet suggested.

“Are you mad, Rose?” Came Tomas’s voice. “That will hardly support us.” He stood up, brushing off his pants. Ratchet glanced over at Talwyn’s unmoving figure, but he caught a certain hint.

“I doubt that.” Ratchet raised an eyebrow. “It could be worth a lot to let it be studied and perfected over the years.” Tomas shook his head.

“No, no, not good enough, my lady Rose.” Ratchet rolled his eyes

“Oh would you stop calling me that? It’s getting annoying.” Talwyn’s lips twitched into a slight smirk.

“Rose?” Tomas smiled “Would you trust me on this? It could work so well in a politicians hands, especially when we can track life forms and predict their movements. Everyone will be unstoppable if a war breaks out, and I’ll make all the money from it!”

“That’s disturbing.” Ratchet sighed, knowing all too well how stuff like that works. He was just glad he caught this plan ahead of time.

“Oh, come now, you won’t say that if it lined your pockets as well, Rose. Join me.” Tomas offered his hand.

“Wow, no.” Ratchet groaned “Just stop that idea where it is and we’ll get along fine.”

“Oh, come now Rose. You’re all alone in this universe aren’t you? You can’t possibly fend for yourself. Let me help you.” Talwyn readied her blaster and Ratchet gripped his.

“You judge far too easily, sir.” Ratchet pulled his blaster out only to be tackled by a screaming Benjamin. Tomas turning to find Talwyn, aiming her blaster at his head.

“No!” Benjamin yelled on top of Ratchet, both fumbling for the blaster. “Don’t shoot!”

“Are you crazy!? I’m not going to kill him!!” Ratchet yelled.

“No! You could destroy this place! All we’ve worked on!” Benjamin hollered

“That’s kind of the idea!” Ratchet growled kicking Benjamin off of him.

“Please!” Benjamin sobbed, “Don’t destroy it. It could do so much in the hands of scientists…”

“You pathetic geek!” Tomas hollered, only to back up as Talwyn forced her blaster into his chest, telling him to back up. “Think of all the money we could make!”

“No!” Benjamin cried “I don’t want the money! I want to save lives!” Ratchet gripped his blaster and sighed.

“Tal…” He glanced at Talwyn, still keeping Tomas at bay.

“Yeah?”

“Get Tomas out of here.” He looked at Ben and crouched down before him. “Don’t move.” He watched Talwyn grab her cuffs, toss Ratchet an extra pair and force Tomas against the wall to contain him.

“You’re making a mistake, Rose!” Tomas yelled as he was escorted out towards the authorities, blaster at his head. “You could be set for life if you stayed with me!” Talwyn kicked Tomas’s calves.

“Ratchet isn’t interested.” She huffed, dragging him off. Ratchet caught the unbelieving ‘what?’ as they continued down the hall. He sat down next to Benjamin, who was holding his head, face down on the ground, shaking.

“Am I arrested as well?” His shaky question kind of startled Ratchet.

“Well, you did damage private property, scare the snot out of about half a thousand people, and kidnap three. Two of those are crimes.” Ratchet shrugged. Benjamin sighed.

“I’ve ruined my creation trying to save it…”

“I doubt it’s ruined.” Ratchet smirked

“What makes you say that?” Ben asked quietly, not moving.

“Well, by the looks of it, it remains undamaged, and I doubt the engineers and scientists would drop the project, just like that.”

“They need money too, Rose…” Ben pointed out

“True, but you can probably just put this creation of yours on hold, or give it to a scientist you trust.” Ratchet shrugged

“Can I give it to you then?” Ratchet laughed

“Not really my area of expertise, there, Ben. Sorry.” The two stayed in silence for a while.

“I’m sorry for mine and my brother’s actions. I meant no harm sending those fake threats.” Ben confessed “I only wished to scare Tomas out of the idea of selling this too soon. I never wanted it to go this far.” Ratchet patted Benjamin on the shoulder.

“Let’s go see your father, Ben.”

“Then to the authorities?” Ben added, disheartened.

“Then to the authorities.” Ratchet confirmed.

“I have one question, though. If you’d allow, Rose.” Ben sat up and looked Ratchet in the eye. Ratchet stood, brushing some of the wrinkles from the earlier tangle with Ben off his skirt.

“What would that be?” Ratchet asked. Ben stood, re-adjusting his shirt and tie.

“That young woman-…”

“Talwyn.” Ratchet confirmed, Benjamin nodded

“Yes, Talwyn…” He paused “she called you Ratchet earlier.” Ratchet looked at him.

“And?” Benjamin shrugged

“I was unaware that the famous lombax hero was so elegant.” Ratchet rolled his eyes and sighed. He pointed a finger at Ben’s nose.

“Let’s make a couple of things clear: You need to call me Rose, and NOT elegant. Ever. Got it?” Benjamin put his hands up in surrender.

“Yes, Ma’am.” Ratchet had his blaster ready

“Now get downstairs.” He huffed the order, guiding Benjamin down the stairs.

“Rose! Are you all right!?” Trenton came up to the duo, running. “I was so worried when the lights went out. Ah!” He stopped “You’ve found Benjamin! Thank goodness! I must tell Scalar!” He grabbed both of them, not even noticing the blaster in Ratchet’s hands.

“Trenton-! BEN!” Scalar came up to Benjamin and held his son. “Thank goodness.” Ben was quiet but hugged his father back. He glanced at Ratchet who tilted his head.

“I- Father.” He pulled himself away “I have to tell you something. In private, if allowed.” He looked at Ratchet who nodded. They went to a secluded corner, Ratchet just inside hearing range. It went over as well as anyone would expect, but they managed to keep the noise down. Both came up to Ratchet with distraught expressions. Benjamin offered his hands, to which Ratchet contained, and then covered with Benjamin’s jacket. Keeping appearances was a big thing with the super wealthy, apparently. One of the guards escorted Benjamin to a vehicle, nodded towards Ratchet, and drove off. Ratchet sighed and leaned against the front entrance door frame.

“Fun party.” Talwyn said quietly joining her friend. “Want to get changed?”

“YES!” Ratchet bolted upright and they headed towards their base.

After he was changed and hydrated, Ratchet joined Clank and the others, glancing over the security cameras.

“Pretty sneaky of him. I’m guessing Ben was the one that talked with Talwyn when she first contacted the main hall?” Clank nodded at Ratchet’s theory.

“That seems to be the case, Ratchet." Clank confirmed, turning from his position in front of the screens. "Are you all right?”

“Yeah, Pal.” Ratchet smiled “especially now that I’m out of that stupid dress." he added with a slightly irritated expression, Clank merely giggled at Ratchet's dramatics.

“Too bad, that dress really was your color.” Qwark stated, walking past the duo. Ratchet gave him a scalding glare.

“Hey, look on the bright side!” Al added “You look good in both genders!” He laughed. Ratchet just gave up and shrugged, accepting the compliment.

“Perks of being gender-fluid, now shut up and let’s go home already.” Ratchet huffed.


End file.
